SATURDAY March 13, 2021

Stand Fast in Christ’s Liberty!

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
Galatians 5:1-2

Remember, in Antioch, Paul had a problem with Judaizers who had tried to push the Law on him. They insisted salvation was not by grace, but by the works of the Law. It did not matter to them if a person was a Jew, a Greek or Gentile; if they wanted to become a Christian, then they would have to be circumcised. In doing so, the Judaizers were taking believers who accepted Christ by faith, back into the Law––legalism.

Paul decided to go to Jerusalem to speak with the Apostles and elders about the situation. The Apostles came to an agreement, and the problem was solved. The Gentiles were not required to be circumcised (Acts 15). Now in Galatians 5, Paul started his dialog to the believers in Galatia with an exhortation to stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free! They should not be entangled in a yoke of bondage––to the Law. If they did, it would be of no benefit to their salvation. Good counsel!

Many believers come to Christ and are set free from addictions to drugs, alcohol, sexual adventures or whatever the problem may be. Yet over time, they begin to be tempted with those same things. Some fail to stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and they go back into bondage––back into sin. They are in the world––backslidden––sad.

In 2 Peter 2:22, the Apostle Peter gave an excellent analogy of someone who has backslidden and turned away from the holy Commandments. They are described as a pig that was washed, cleaned and perfumed, but once let go, it returned right back to the mud! How can a person, after receiving the grace, love and mercy of God, go back to the mud––to the bondage of sin that God has pulled them out of? Seriously, once a person has willfully turned back to the world, it might be harder for them to be freed from that entanglement of sin. Be careful!

What a thing is sin, what a devil and master of devils is it, that it should, where it takes hold, so hang that nothing can unclinch its hold but the mercy of God and the heart-blood of his dear Son!
~John Bunyan~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!